Black Ships

By: Jo Graham

Narrated by: Gigi Shane

The world is ending. One by one the mighty cities are falling to earthquakes, to floods, to raiders on both land and sea.

In a time of war and doubt, Gull is an oracle. Daughter of a slave taken from fallen Troy, chosen at the age of seven to be the voice of the Lady of the Dead, it is her destiny to counsel kings.

When nine black ships appear, captained by an exiled Trojan prince, Gull must decide between the life she has been destined for and the most perilous adventure--to join the remnant of her mother's people in their desperate flight. From the doomed bastions of the City of Pirates to the temples of Byblos, from the intrigues of the Egyptian court to the haunted caves beneath Mount Vesuvius, only Gull can guide Prince Aeneas on his quest, and only she can dare the gates of the Underworld itself to lead him to his destiny.

In the last shadowed days of the Age of Bronze, one woman dreams of the world beginning anew. This is her story.

©2008 Joanne Wyrick (P)2015 David N. Wilson

Critic reviews

"Haunting and bittersweet, lush and vivid, this extraordinary story has lived with me since I first read it." (Naomi Novik, author of His Majesty's Dragon)

Thoughtful

If you could sum up Black Ships in three words, what would they be?

Graham starts her story with the daughter of one of the Trojan women taken by King Nestor at the end of the Trojan War. Gull starts life as the daughter of newly made slave, eventually becoming a priestess in training. Her life radically changes when what remains of her mother’s people come to rescue their women. From there, the story is that of Aeneas’ and the founding of the Roman race. This journey takes the small group across the Mediterranean.

What did you like best about this story?

Graham’s changes to Virgil and Homer make sense in terms of history, though perhaps not the Romans for Carthage does not make an appearance. Graham explains the reason for this in her afterword and her adaptation of Dido and Carthage into an Egyptian sequence does work very well. Graham does seem aware that she is pushing Gull’s role a bit too much to the forefront, and there are varying reactions from male characters to showcase that Gull is different (and Gull is not an early feminist by any means). It would have been nice if one of Gull’s close friends had been another woman, at least in the latter half of the book, for once Gull joins her people, all her equals are men. Still Gull makes for interesting center to the story. Graham’s use of Gull as a Sybil allows her to bring in fantasy elements, but with a light touch. Additionally, these elements allow Graham to explore the different faiths that were swirling around – and it makes for rather interesting and apt references.

What does Gigi Shane bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

At first, I thought she sounded too much like Siri, but as the book went along I realize that her inflection was intentional to try and capture Gull. It actually worked quite well and upon reflection, seems to be close to that of an actual oracle.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Epic

Any additional comments?

Disclaimer: The publisher of this audio book gave me a free copy in return for a fair and honest review.

Black Ships is one of those books that are going to set some people’s teeth on edge. If you are a purist when it comes to Virgil’s Aeneid or Homer’s Iliad, the chances of you enjoying this book are low. If you don’t mind changes, not only in perspective but in plot sequence, you should enjoy it.

Black Ships

Any additional comments?

This is a sweeping tale of a family.It starts with a childhood injury leading to an oracle ,cities lost and found and loss.It is full of historical and mythical themes.A good read!
Gigi Shane did a great job with the narration.
I was gifted a copy of this audiobook for an honest review.

Full of adventure, deities, and war!

This is the story of Gull, a slave born of a slave. Her mother and many people like her were taken from fallen Troy. Gull was allowed to stay with her mother, working the flax that grew along the irrigation ditches until the day an accident left her crippled. Her mother found her another role in life, that as acolyte at the temple of Pythia, she who speaks for the Lady of the Dead. Gull grows up learning the inner mysteries of the Underworld and prophecy. Her life takes her places she could hardly foresee.

Several years ago, back before I became a book reviewer, I read several Jo Graham novels and loved each and every one of them. Having this book rendered as an audiobook does not diminish my enjoyment of her work one bit. This is a beautiful story full of deities who meddle in human affairs, rulers who may care little for the common folk, and ill luck rained down on those already beaten low. Through all these obstacles, our heroes must endure and over come.

Gull, who becomes Pythia, isn’t just some unthinking priestess that reacts to the whims of her goddess. No, quite often she must apply her own knowledge and thoughts to the situation. And yet this balanced by the hand of the Lady occasionally laying heavily upon her handmaiden. I really enjoy this aspect of the book. These ancient peoples were not separate and free of their deities – no! They lived side by side with them, each complimenting the other. However, the writing is clever in that if you don’t have a bend toward the supernatural, you can read all the events and decisions as acts of nature (weather) and/or man-made (hallucinogenic drugs). It is great that the author left it up to the reader’s interpretation.

For those that have studied the fall of Troy and what followed after, there will be touchstones for you to recognize in this book. While my own knowledge is only passing, even I caught a few of these. So often we look at ancient history as rather dry and happening so long ago that it doesn’t touch us personally. This book brings that ancient history alive and puts face and heart to the tale.

Gull’s people are a people without a home. Her wisdom and visions help guide the people as they search for a safe harbor, and later for a more permanent solution. Throughout much of the tale, she gives counsel to Prince Aeneas, the lost prince of Troy. Their travels take them all around the Mediterranean. This allowed our main characters to compare various great cities of the time such as the main cities of Egypt, Byblos, and others.

Gull is far from the only plot-important woman in this story. The author did a good job of realistically portraying women of the time without diminishing their roles in society or in the shaping of history. Also, because Gull’s people are traveling so much, we get a comparison of women’s roles from culture to culture.

This was an excellent book the first time I explored it and it remains an excellent book now. The characters were intriguing and the plot gripping. The ending was very satisfying.

Narration: Gigi Shane was the perfect voice for the Lady of the Dead’s handmaiden, Pythia. Her voice was both smooth and a little smokey, making me think of black veils and secrets. She also had a very nice array of other women’s voices, men’s voices, the young, and the old.

Lyrical prose and compelling mythic story line

I enjoyed the story because I can never have enough good fiction based on the ancient Greek and Roman periods. The author fully realized the religious life of these ancient peoples and her characters, especially the women, are compelling, strong and powerful. Based on Virgil's "Aeneid", and told through the role of the Sybil, held my interest, even though the author does not portray the scenes with Dido in Carthage but instead with an Egyptian princess because this was more historically plausible.
I highly recommend this book.

The narration however was not very good although not bad enough to destroy the experience. The main issue is the narrator does not properly pronounce common English words, saying Kway instead of Key for "quay" and SHE-ton instead of ky-ton for chiton. These mistakes would have been caught by an even marginally interested publisher.

Interesting historical fiction

You can tell that the author did her research. This is an engaging story about the life of a young woman born to a slave and given to an Oracle of Delphi. She does what most oracles don't get the chance to. Travel the world as a priestess. This story is beautifully written. Full of joy and sorrows.

Retelling of Virgil and Homer stories.

Would you listen to Black Ships again? Why?

Yes. I'm going to continue on in the series. I think it would be kind of fun to read Virgil and Homer then this again.

If you’ve listened to books by Jo Graham before, how does this one compare?

This is my first time.

Have you listened to any of Gigi Shane’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first time.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were a few parts that did make me laugh. I found the little argument while some were sleeping funny. I didn't cry.

Any additional comments?

I liked it. It's mainly from the POV of Gull, an oracle. It's also a great deal of being on ships on the sea and trying to survive and having freedom. There is a romance in this. There are a few humorous scenes. I'll put it on the TRL for in case I'd like to

Excellent historical novel

Black ships really intrigued me and it was the first story of Jo Graham's that I had purchased. The period of time in this story has long been an interest of mine, but I was not aware of the historical background Graham had completed relevant to this story. Names and places sounded almost right, but it was not until after I had listened to the entire story and then listened to Graham's explanation, that the dots were connected for me. After hearing the author's comments, I will go back and listen again. An engaging story with a most interesting main character.

Black Ships review

If you could sum up Black Ships in three words, what would they be?

Interesting and entertaining.

What did you like best about this story?

The main character.

What does Gigi Shane bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A unique narrative voice for the main character.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, but enthralled.

Any additional comments?

A favorite.

Incredible history brought to life

A Very interesting period brought to life with a unique tone and flavor all it's own.

Black ships

What did you like best about this story?

Another great novel byJo Graham including a lot of historical detail in her books. This one did not disappoint! If you love historical fictions, this is surely one to buy. Narrator is good too.